Russ Kent column: A feel-good story amidst the angst

The Cleveland Indians gave us the thrill of a lifetime, only to come up just a little bit short in their bid for a World Series championship banner to hang at Progressive Field.

This election cycle is coming to an agonizing, slow end.

Work continues on several new business ventures in the city.

And then the world learned about the plight of George and Brittany … and people in and around Galion came to their rescue.

George, a homeless man, and Brittany, his dog have felt the love and generosity of this city.

If you haven’t heard this story, there is a Facebook page dedicated to the effort.

Food, clothing, offers of a place to stay, offers to repair a broken-down truck and more have been made and followed through on.

In a time of great angst in America about the upcoming election and the path the winning candidate will take us down the next four years, it’s good to hear some positive news.

Again, you can read all about the plight of George and Brittany and find ways to lend a hand by visiting Facebook.

Thanks all for making Galion a better place to live.

The Indians win the pennant … not

But what a thrill it was to watch the Tribe in the playoffs.

So close, but yet so far, far away.

No one expected Cleveland to make it to the World Series, let alone beat Boston in the LDS and Toronto in the ALCS. But they did, giving the heavily-favored Chicago Cubs everything they wanted … and then some.

But at 1 a.m. Thursday — not midnight — the Indians’ Cinderella story ended.

Will they be back in the World Series?

I think so. Well, I hope so.

But when? That is the more difficult question to answer. Injuries, contract negotiations, age and, karma conspire against every MLB team at this time a year. And you need to catch a few breaks to even get to the World Series.

It won’t be easy. But this team has the makeup — and the contracts in place — to make them a favorite for another couple of years.

And for the Chicago Cuts fans in the area. Congrats. I know you’re happy, thrilled and likely a little still hungover right now.

Seriously! The curse is over. And Chicago residents can breathe again.

I wish I had been the one coming to work Thursday and Friday with the blood-shot eyes and headache.

But as we’re fond of saying in Cleveland: There’s always next season.

Also Cubs faithful, don’t spend all your money celebrating.

There’s still that big wedding coming up between Joe Buck and Kyle Schwarber and you’ll need to get a little something for the happy couple.

And then there is Donald and Hillary …

Lost out in the World Series excitement was this election thing coming up next Tuesday.

The series was almost enough to keep my mind off Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton for a few days.

Almost, but not enough.

All those commercials about Trumps’ decades-old comments and all the ads about Hillary’s inability to tell the truth won’t end soon enough for me. But as of Saturday, there on only a few days left.

There are a lot of disenfranchised voters in America. It’s truly hard to figure out what is going to happen on Nov. 8.

Polls numbers change daily.

In my eyes, polls are worthless. The questions asked on polls are framed so as to get the answer the pollster wants to hear.

Next to the Dow Jones numbers run every day across the nation in newspapers and on news shows — which mean absolutely nothing to 99 percent of Americans — political polls are waste of time.

They mean nothing, but they make great give election “experts” something to blather on and on and on about.

I don’t know what’s going to happen Tuesday.

Millions say they are going to stay home. They’re not going to cast a ballot because then are sick of this embarrassing campaign. I don’t believe them.

Millions of others who have not voted in years are going to head to their precincts to vote for a presidential candidate.That number is not as great as the experts anticipate, either.

But this fact is true.

Millions of voters are going to cast their ballots on Tuesday, not for the candidate they love, but AGAINST Trump or Clinton, the candidate that dislike the most.

It’s weird.

You’d think it would take two — or three — truly remarkable candidates to bring out the vote in America.

In actuality, it took two candidates — each equally hated — to spur voters to action.

My only prediction is that it is going to be the largest turnout in years … and not because of all the dead people voting in Chicago and Florida. It’s because so many voters don’t want the other person to win.

Truly weird!

Still, do your part. Get out and vote Tuesday. Polls are 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.